Newcastle United are looking for a new midfielder in January.
According to The Chronicle, Newcastle United boss Steve Bruce wants to replace Mohamed Diame in the January transfer window with a new signing.
The Magpies could have activated a one-year extension in Diame’s contract by giving him just two more starts, but Rafael Benitez chose to let him go.
Diame ended up moving on to Qatar with Al-Ahli, signing a bumper deal as a free agent when his Newcastle contract ended – but it’s a decision Steve Bruce didn’t agree with.
Bruce allegedly would have wanted to keep Diame at St James’ Park, which is no great surprise given that he worked with the Senegalese midfielder at Hull City.
With Diame gone, it’s now claimed that Bruce wants Newcastle to find a similar midfielder, and scouts are working hard to get a signing lined up for January.
That would involve finding a physical, box-to-box midfielder with the ability to get forward but also get stuck in – and a couple of players are on the radar.
Arsenal’s Granit Xhaka and Strasbourg ace Ibrahima Sissoko are two targets, but Bruce and co will be looking at other possible signings.
Youngster Sissoko fits the bill more for Newcastle not only as a major physical presence, but as a young player with potential to be worth even more in the future, whereas Xhaka would just be a loan deal.
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